The Mayor's Entrepreneurs Interns meet the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan and Paul Salariya, Head of UK Public Sector Banking at Citi.

Mayor’s Entrepreneur Interns meet the Mayor

29 November 2016

The Mayor’s Entrepreneur is a competition that invites London students to come up with smart ideas to improve their city. We also have Mayor’s Entrepreneur interns based at City Hall. A month into their placements, they had the chance to meet the Mayor….

Farhana Begum from UEL, said: “It was so great to meet Sadiq Khan. He was really interested in what we have been doing so far”.

The interns’ role is to ensure students across London know about the competition. They also help shape the competition so that it continues to support students taking their first step towards becoming entrepreneurs. The interns work just 3.5 hours a week alongside their studies. That means they have to be creative in finding ways to communicate with their fellow students.

Sam Goymer from University of Greenwich, comments: "It’s been an amazing experience so far. I’m learning a lot of new skills but I also love talking to other students about what could be done better in London. It’s really inspiring to see how much students care about improving their city environment."

Khamrun Choudhury from LSBU had similar thoughts: "It can sometimes be hard starting conversations with students. However, when they hear the Mayor is looking for their ideas for London and there’s a £20k start up fund to support their businesses, it really sparks their interest."

The students from UCL use the success of the first winner Bio-Bean to encourage potential entrants. As Karan Pinto from UCL says: "Who needs more inspiration than Bio-Bean’s success, the first student entrepreneur who won the competition. It’s a no brainer."

By recruiting interns from across universities with a competitive streak there’s bound to be some friendly rivalry. This is clear when we ask the interns what they are most looking forward to. Most say ‘Seeing students from my university make it into the top 10, if not winning!’

This year's Mayor's Entrepreneurs Interns are (see photograph, L-R):

Sam Goymer (University of Greenwich)

Sarang Kharche (London Metropolitan University)

Yasmin Greenaway (UCL)

Joseph Thompson (King’s College London)

Eleanor Cox (LSE)

Claire Tunnacliffe (UCL)

Karan Pinto (UCL)

Katie Rodgers (Roehampton University)

Lidia Garces (UCL)

Dennis G. Lucan (University of Westminster)

Gabriella de Rosa (Goldsmiths, University of London)

Farhana Begum (University of East London)

Joseph Davis (Goldsmiths University of London)

Gianluca Torreggiani (University of Greenwich)

Khamrun Choudhury (LSBU) - not pictured

Want to be an intern next year? Register your Interest in the competition and we’ll tell you when applications for internships open again.